On Tuesday the Nigeria Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has cautioned his supporters and Rivers State people to steer clear of violence as that is not the best way to resolve any issue.
The Minister was reacting to two viral videos of his alleged supporters in Rivers State, one group inciting violence and the other dissociating him from the comments of the first group, stating that he is a man of peace.
In a statement by Amaechi’s media team said the Minister addressed the issue during a TV interview stating that the rule of law must be respected and upheld at all times.
He said, “First, if you say you’re my supporter, you’ll know that I don’t just respect the law, I fear the law. Breaking the law can put you in jail. Because of the kind of words used in that video, I may have to address it.
“I believe that no matter how angry you are, no matter how institutions are manipulated, a judge once said ‘I’m allowed to be wrong, that’s why you have the court of appeal, that’s why you have the supreme court.’ So if you think that what the state judiciary is doing is wrong, then you go to the court of appeal, you go to the supreme court and ensure you exhaust the due process. No matter your frustration, you don’t have the right to take the law into your hands.
“I’m responding to those videos is because they all said they are my supporters, those who made the comment and those who countered them. My message to everyone is to tell everybody who is supporting me to please remain calm and get out of violence. Never be part of violence because I will not defend anybody when you get violent.
“The law will take its course. Whatever is happening, if anything goes wrong in the high court, you go to the court of appeal, if anything goes wrong in the court of appeal, you go to the supreme court, but don’t you ever take the law into your hands, just like my children would never do that,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government says its attention has been drawn to a viral video by a group of All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters who did not disguise their rabid loyalty and sycophancy to the former Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, in a statement said that the Rivers State Government is fully ready and determined to bring the full weight of the law to bear on anybody who threatens to breach the hard-earned peace and security which Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has worked so hard to entrench and sustain in the state.
The state government said, “While it is not in our place to advise people on who to support or otherwise, we take very strong exception to the provocative and incendiary language used by the leader of the group, where he threatened the peace of the state and invoked fire, brimstone, death and destruction on Rivers State and our dear Rivers people, should any unfavorable judgment and action befall their leader and master, Rotimi Amaechi in the current crises rocking the fractured Rivers APC.
“Let us also make it very clear to all those purveyors of misleading and wild narrative, that Governor Wike, is neither involved in the crisis rocking the fractured APC in Rivers State, nor has any interest in the emergence or determination of the leadership of the party whatsoever.
“We also take great exception to the wild and dangerous threats and intimidation made against the Judiciary in Rivers State, in utterances that can best be described as grossly inciting, offensive, and derogatory and treasonable.
“The Rivers State Government hereby warns that it will come down hard on any trouble maker, who desires to foment trouble in the state.
“We want to use this opportunity to put the Inspector General of Police and all the security agencies on notice to live up to their responsibilities by taking prompt action on what is obviously a clear case of treason by a group whose leader is well known in the country.”
